Glossary
ETF
An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a stock-exchange-traded investment fund that passively tracks an index, sector, commodity, or other asset class.
MSCI World
The MSCI World is a global equity index by MSCI Inc.
Sparplan
A Sparplan (German for "savings plan") is a recurring investment of a fixed amount — usually monthly — into the same security or ETF.
Vorabpauschale
The Vorabpauschale is a German tax on accumulating investment funds and ETFs, regulated under the Investmentsteuergesetz (InvStG).
Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is the strategic distribution of capital across asset classes such as equities, bonds, real estate, commodities, and cash.
Rebalancing
Rebalancing is the act of bringing a portfolio back to its target asset allocation after market movements have shifted the weights.
Concentration Risk
Concentration risk (German: Klumpenrisiko) is the elevated risk of loss when a portfolio is overly concentrated in single positions, sectors, countries, or asset classes.
MiFID II
MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II) is the EU directive in force since 2018 that regulates the European securities market.
ISIN
An ISIN (International Securities Identification Number) is a twelve-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies any tradable security worldwide.
Investment Advice (Anlageberatung)
Anlageberatung — investment advice — is the regulated provision of personal recommendations to investors on the purchase, sale, or holding of specific financial instruments.
Portfolio DOC Treatment Plan
A Portfolio DOC Treatment Plan is the individual portfolio consultation by Portfolio DOC: a complete analysis of the investor's existing portfolio combined with concrete action recommendations to address weaknesses and bring the portfolio back into alignment with the investor's goals and risk profile.
Portfolio Check
A Portfolio Check by Portfolio DOC is the diagnostic analysis of an existing portfolio that surfaces mismatches between current holdings and the investor's goals, risk tolerance, and prevailing market conditions.
Medication List
A Medication List is the concrete set of trade instructions delivered at the end of a Portfolio DOC Treatment Plan: which securities, in what quantities, must be bought, reduced, or sold to bring the portfolio to the recommended target weighting.
Uncorrelated Returns
Uncorrelated returns are returns generated by independent drivers — meaning the positions in a portfolio do not all rise or fall together when a single market factor moves.
Thesis – Risk – Trigger
Thesis – Risk – Trigger is the decision framework Portfolio DOC uses to document every position.
Packaging Culture
Packaging culture (German: Verpackungskultur) describes the dominant practice in the investment industry of bundling assets into ever-new wrappers — funds, model portfolios, ETF baskets, certificates — instead of evaluating individual positions on their own merits.
ETF Blindness
ETF blindness (German: ETF-Blindheit) describes the state in which investors, by holding a few broad ETFs, accumulate exposure to hundreds or thousands of individual securities without being able to see what they actually own, why it is performing the way it is, or how it could be improved.
Zombie Allocations
Zombie allocations are portfolio positions held only because they are part of an index or a passive bundle — not because they carry an investment thesis of their own.